Former Lexington nurse charged with murder appears in court

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) - A Lexington nurse accused of killing her patient was in court Friday morning.

Eyvette Hunter is accused of killing James Morris while working as his nurse.

Hunter appeared in custody for her arraignment in Circuit Court. The former nurse is charged with murder, but Friday morning the defense waived her formal arraignment.

A suspension order issued by the Kentucky Board of Nursing detailed the day that Hunter allegedly gave 97-year-old James Morris Lorazepam, a muscle relaxer, without an order from a doctor.

The order said that after Hunter’s request for the medicine was denied twice, she grabbed the medicine and gave it to him anyway.

When another nurse asked what she had given her patient, Hunter reportedly told her, “something special.”

Hunter was fired from Baptist Health that day.

Morris’s oxygen level dropped and Hunter turned down his oxygen monitor, so the alarm couldn’t be heard. Doctors were able to stabilize him, but Morris developed pneumonia and died five days later.

A Fayette County Grand Jury indicted Hunter on murder charges and set her bond at $100,000.

Friday morning the judge set a date to determine whether or not detectives can go through her phone. Hunter’s attorney said police had seized and held onto Hunter’s phone for days before asking for a warrant, while the prosecutors said they were just going through the right channels. That hearing is set for September 15.

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